The mandate of the Downtown Oakville BIA is to promote and enhance the
downtown area and make improvements to municipally owned properties. With that
mandate comes over $900,000.00 in investment from the BIA members which goes
into the promotion and enhancement of the downtown area. Approximately $750,000
is through the BIA Levy – an additional tax above the commercial tax levy and
the rest comes from corporate sponsorship, donations, revenue generation and
grants.

“This little gem called downtown Oakville is dynamic, its’ cultured and
most importantly progressive” Says Marcia Small, Downtown Oakville Board member
and business owner who was instrumental in this exemption. ”All of the success
factors for our downtown area make shopping, dining, and gallery & museum
hopping a real treat and the new designation is another great reason to visit
Oakville’s downtown core!”

Big events such as the Jazz Festival, Midnight Madness, A Taste of Downtown and
the Runway Show draw people from all over the GTA and have a significant
economic impact on the local economy. These festival continually encourage
people who live in the GTA to keep coming back to Oakville’s downtown core,
which is situated amongst natural, built and cultural heritage attractions as
well as the Oakville Arts Galleries, Oakville Museum and the Oakville Centre
for the Performing Arts.

The economic impact of any special event is positive but when you have
more people or an increase in outside dollars coming into the local economy
this tends to have a ripple effect on a number of industries in Oakville.

“Over the past five years we have had several businesses vocalize the
need for this designation and we are pleased to say that downtown Oakville is
open for business on Statutory Holiday’s commencing with Canada Day 2011,” says
Suzy Godefroy, Manager, Downtown Oakville BIA.

This designation means that all businesses in the Downtown Oakville BIA
are exempt from the Retail Business Holiday Act, and that businesses are
permitted to be open, effective July 1, 2011, and any future Statutory
Holidays. The Retail Holiday Exemption does not mean that all businesses must
stay open; rather it is an option or choice for those who may not necessarily
want to stay open.

All downtown businesses are permitted to conduct
business, legally, on any of the following recognized Statutory Holidays:

06/30/2011 – Article posted by Ryan
Crane, an Oakville Real Estate agent that works throughout the GTA and specializes in the Milton, Mississauga, Burlington, and Oakville Real Estate markets. You can find him at www.oakvillerealestate4sale.ca

Oakville Real Estate Agents website provides you with real
access to all Oakville MLS Listings for all Homes for Sale in Oakville including
the Oakville Sold Properties.